Dead Pilots Not Quite So Dead at ABC and FOX?

It seems in Hollywood, dead doesn't always mean dead.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that several passed-over pilots have secretly extended actor option deals, indicating that there may be life left in some of these believed-to-be-deceased shows. These pilots include ABC's Secrets of a Small Town, October Road, and A House Divided, as well as FOX dramas Damages and Beyond.

Options on Damages stars Cole Hauser and Sarah Shahi were picked up. However, one of the pilot's others stars has already been cast in another FOX drama pilot. Kristin Lehman (Killer Instinct) recently signed on to star in Tim Minear's faux reality series Drive (think a fictionalized version of The Amazing Race), which is said to be under consideration at the network for early 2007. (Lehman joins an ensemble cast that includes Ivan Sergei, Shawn Hatosy, Alan Ruck, Melanie Lynskey, Taryn Manning, Nicholas Lea, and Brian Bloom, among others.)

Does this mean that audiences will get to see the above series hit the airwaves sometime next season? Not necessarily, but it does mean that their respective networks aren't ready to close the coffin on them quite yet.